Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) Member of Parliament Mujibur Rahuman has stepped into the center of a growing political storm, raising serious and pointed questions about the conduct of former State Intelligence Service (SIS) Chief Suresh Salley in connection with the Easter Sunday attacks investigation. The MP's statements have reignited public debate over whether the legal proceedings against prominent Attorney-at-Law Hejaaz Hizbullah were politically motivated, and whether intelligence officials manipulated the probe to serve hidden agendas rather than deliver genuine justice to the victims of the devastating 2019 bombings.
MP Mujibur Rahuman Demands Accountability
In a detailed and strongly worded social media statement, MP Mujibur Rahuman questioned why former intelligence chief Suresh Salley appeared to have framed Hejaaz Hizbullah as a central mastermind in the Easter Sunday attack investigations. The MP's remarks were not merely political rhetoric — they carried the weight of a lawmaker demanding institutional accountability in one of Sri Lanka's most sensitive national security cases. Rahuman called for a thorough and independent investigation into Salley's specific actions during the period when Hizbullah was arrested and subsequently detained without charge for an extended period.
The MP emphasized that the manner in which Hizbullah was targeted raised deeply troubling questions about the integrity of the entire Easter Sunday investigation process. He argued that if intelligence officials were capable of framing an innocent legal professional as a terrorism mastermind, the credibility of the broader investigation must be called into serious question, and those responsible for any such manipulation must be held fully accountable under the law.
Who Is Hejaaz Hizbullah?
Hejaaz Hizbullah is a well-known Sri Lankan Attorney-at-Law who was arrested in April 2020 under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) in connection with the Easter Sunday bombings that killed over 260 people on April 21, 2019. Despite being held for nearly two years, Hizbullah was never formally charged with any offense directly related to the attacks. His prolonged detention without trial drew widespread condemnation from local and international human rights organizations, legal bodies, and foreign governments who viewed his detention as an example of the PTA being used to suppress individuals without sufficient evidence.
Hizbullah was eventually released on bail in February 2022 after the Supreme Court intervened. His case became a landmark symbol of the dangers of anti-terrorism legislation being potentially misused against individuals who may have had no genuine involvement in acts of terrorism. Throughout his detention, his legal representatives and supporters consistently maintained that he was targeted without credible evidence linking him to the bombings.
The Role of Suresh Salley Under Scrutiny
Suresh Salley served as the Director General of the State Intelligence Service during a critical period of the Easter Sunday investigation. MP Rahuman's questions place Salley at the center of what the legislator describes as a deliberate effort to implicate Hizbullah without proper evidentiary basis. The MP is pushing for investigators and relevant parliamentary committees to examine what specific intelligence reports Salley produced, what directions he gave to subordinates, and whether he acted in coordination with political figures who may have wanted to use the Easter attacks investigation as a tool for targeting specific individuals within the Muslim community.
These are serious allegations that, if substantiated, would represent a grave abuse of state power during an already traumatic period in Sri Lanka's modern history. The Easter Sunday bombings remain one of the deadliest terrorist attacks in the country's history, and the families of victims have long demanded that the full truth be revealed — including whether political interference compromised the investigation's integrity from the very beginning.
Political Implications and the Broader Easter Probe
The Easter Sunday investigation has been mired in political controversy since its earliest stages. Multiple commissions, parliamentary inquiries, and court proceedings have revealed troubling gaps in intelligence sharing, alleged foreknowledge of the attacks by senior officials, and potential cover-ups at the highest levels of government. Against this backdrop, MP Rahuman's latest statements add another critical dimension to an already complex and unresolved national tragedy.
Opposition politicians and civil society groups have repeatedly argued that the investigation has been selectively used to target members of the Muslim community while shielding powerful figures who may bear greater responsibility for the intelligence failures that allowed the attacks to occur. Rahuman's intervention suggests that accountability must extend to those within the intelligence apparatus itself, not merely to those accused of carrying out or supporting the bombings.
Calls for Justice and Transparency
MP Mujibur Rahuman's public statements reflect a broader demand from significant sections of Sri Lankan society for genuine transparency in the Easter Sunday investigation. The question of why Hejaaz Hizbullah was framed — if indeed he was — deserves a clear, evidence-based answer. Suresh Salley's role must be examined without political interference, and Sri Lanka's institutions must demonstrate that no individual, regardless of their position in the intelligence community, is above the law. Justice for the Easter Sunday victims can only be meaningful if it is built on truth, not on politically convenient narratives.